Portable SCADA Security Toolkits

Abstract

The Internet and the demands of connectivity and convenience to access the control systems found in critical infrastructures have ushered newly discovered vulnerabilities that have been exploited by internal and external threats. These vulnerabilities of control systems could be exposed by even novice hackers through the use of non-sophisticated tools found on the Internet. These insecurities have been perpetuated by technology staff and even educators who are themselves unaware of the potential risks and consequences. This is further exacerbated by the lack of training tools and systems for the information security curriculum. We describe a cost-effective way of equipping educators with hands-on toolkits that can be used in their classrooms as security testing and learning kits. In addition, we describe several SCADA security curriculum modules that can be used for providing hands-on laboratory exercises utilizing the toolkits. We believe that this small contribution towards training future control system security professionals will have a tremendous impact on the security of industrial systems.